The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies

Edited by Susan Ashbrook Harvey and David G. Hunter

Authoritative, up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies

Essays by leading international scholars in the field

Each essay followed by suggestions for further reading and important bibliography on the topic

Final section on 'Tools of the Trade', providing an extensive guide to various scholarly tools critical to any study of the field: major journals, published series of critical editions and translations, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, data bases, websites, and related research tools

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies

Edited by Susan Ashbrook Harvey and David G. Hunter

Description

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades. As a one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100-600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in Western and Eastern late antiquity. It is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The essays orientate readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30-50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each essay points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well as to the appropriate research tools available for the area.

This volume will be useful to advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as to specialists in any area who wish to consult a brief review of the 'state of the question' in a particular area or sub-specialty of early Christian studies, especially one different from their own.

Contributors:

William Adler, Professor of Religion at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Lewis Ayres, Associate Professor of Historical Theology in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Paul Blowers, Dean E. Walker Professor of Church History at the Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, TN. David Brakke, Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Sebastian P. Brock, Reader in Syriac Studies Emeritus at the Oriental Institute, Oxford University. Francine Cardman, Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, MA. Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor of Religion at Duke University, Durham, NC. Brian E. Daley, S.J., Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. Harold A. Drake, Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. Hubertus R. Drobner, Professor of Church History and Patrology at the Theologische Fakultät Paderborn, Germany. Mark Edwards, Tutor in Theology at Christ Church and Lecturer in Patristics at Oxford University. Everett Ferguson, Professor of Church History Emeritus at Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX. Allan D. Fitzgerald, O.S.A., Professor of Patristics at the Augustinian Patristic Institute, Rome. Georgia Frank, Associate Professor of Religion at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY. J. William Harmless, S.J., Professor of Theology at Creighton University, Omaha, NE. Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University, Providence, RI. Michael W. Holmes, Professor of Biblical Studies and Early Christianity at Bethel University, St. Paul, MN. Mark Humphries, Professor of Ancient History at Swansea University, Swansea, Wales. David G. Hunter, Cottrill-Rolfes Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Andrew S. Jacobs, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside, CA. Robin M. Jensen, Luce Chancellor's Professor of the History of Christian Art and Worship at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, TN. Maxwell E. Johnson, Professor of Liturgical Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. Joseph F. Kelly, Professor of Religious Studies at John Carroll University, University Heights, OH. Karen L. King, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the Harvard University Divinity School, Cambridge, MA. Ross Shepherd Kraemer, Professor of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies at Brown University, Providence, RI. Rebecca Krawiec, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Theology at Canisius College, Buffalo, NY. Mathijs Lamberigts, Professor of Church History and Theology at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Samuel N.C. Lieu, Professor of Ancient History and Co-Director of the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. J. Rebecca Lyman, Garrett Professor of Church History Emerita at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, CA. Antti Marjanen, Docent of New Testament Studies at the University of Helsinki. Ralph W. Mathisen, Professor of History, Classics, and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign, IL. Wendy Mayer, Research Associate in the Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University. John A. McGuckin, Nielsen Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Christian History at Union Theological Seminary, New York, and Professor of Byzantine Christianity at Columbia University, New York. Richard M. Price, Senior Lecturer in the History of Christianity at Heythrop College, University of London. Andrew Radde-Gallwitz, Assistant Professor of Theology at Loyola University, Chicago, IL. Eric Rebillard, Professor of Classics and History at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Michael J. Roberts, Robert Rich Professor of Latin at Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. Jeanne-Nicole Saint-Laurent, Ph.D. candidate in Early Christianity at Brown University, Providence, RI. Michele R. Salzman, Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside, CA. Daniel Sheerin, Professor of Classics and Theology Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. Stephen J. Shoemaker, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. Columba Stewart, O.S.B., Professor of Theology at St. John's School of Theology-Seminary, Collegeville, MN. William Tabbernee, President and Stephen J. England, Professor of the History of Christianity at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, OK. Karen Jo Torjesen, Margo L. Goldsmith Professor of Women's Studies and Dean of the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, CA. Raymond Van Dam, Professor of History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Lucas Van Rompay, Professor of Early Christianity at Duke University, Durham, NC. Mark Vessey, Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Frances M. Young, Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology Emerita at the University of Birmingham.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies

Edited by Susan Ashbrook Harvey and David G. Hunter

Reviews and Awards

"This is not simply another multi-author volume on the first Christian centuries. It addresses itself to the task of bringing together a review of the approaches, assumptions and results of recent research in a growing range of interdisciplinary areas. It is for the most part technical and exact without being inaccessible to the interested beginner... This is an invaluable work of reference and full of meat." - G. R. Evans, Theology

"Without doubt, this will become a major reference tool and a number of the chapters will find their way onto reading lists for classes studying early Christianity." - Paul Foster, Expository Times

"...this book is a treasure trove. The editors have assembled an impressive bench of contributors and they tackle a staggering array of subjects...This hefty and wonderful volume reminds us just how preposterous an unnecessarily adamantine view of Christianity is and ever war." - Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald

"This is a volume that goes far beyond the descriptive survey and contains much of interest for both the beginner and the old hand ... it should indeed stimulate further research" - F. Lucy Grig, Journal of Theological Studies

"In many ways the appearance of this volume is timelf ... It seems in general to reflect the wide-ranging and many-sided characters of its subject ...and does so with clarity and learning. Any student intent upon engaging in research on an aspect of the field of early Christian studies would do well to start here ... in the company of distinguished scholars in thoughtful mode." - James Carleton Paget, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

"The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies stems from the rich scholarly tradition of Oxford and features within a handbook series devoted to a plenitude of scientific topics and in which various domains of history, theology and religious sciences are already covered ... impressive volume ... a must for all beginners and a quick reference for specialists in the field." - A. Dupont, Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses